New to the LA Board? Read This First

[Jacquilynne]

Are you new to Chowhound? Or just to the Los Angeles board? Perhaps visiting from out of town? We've got some tips to help you get started.

If you're brand new to the site, you should read our Site Etiquette http://www.chowhound.com/topics/367605 so you don't break any rules or step on any toes.

This board is focused on discussing chow in the greater LA area. This includes LA, Orange and Ventura Counties and Southwestern San Bernardino County. If you'd like tips on chow in Southern California outside of LA, please see our California board: http://chowhound.chow.com/boards/3 . For a complete list of boards available, see the Chowhound menu in the navigation bar.

HAVE A HOT TIP?
If you've got a great tip or a recommendation for someone, dive right in and post it. It's great if you can include some details of why you like a place, but even those short tips on where to find a great taco or donut are appreciated. If you need help starting a new thread, check out the FAQ: http://chowhound.chow.com/faq#topic

HAVE A QUESTION?
The Los Angeles board is a pretty active place, and a lot of questions have been covered recently--the Chowhound archives are a great resource.

Start your quest for an answer with a search of all the great info that's already out there. There's a 'SEARCH THIS BOARD' link at the top of each board and thread -- it's next to the name of the board. 'Search this board' is a quick way to search the last year worth of posts on your current board to find recent mentions of your subject. Just add your keywords and go. On the search results page, you can change your search criteria to add more keywords, or change your sort order or the dates you're interested in.

Here are just a few of the subjects that are common on the Los Angeles boards, and some suggestions on how to find that information:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON THE LOS ANGELES BOARD:

Where should we eat in Hollywood? Santa Monica? Downtown? West Hollywood? the San Gabriel Valley? Any other Neighborhood?
Search terms to try: neighborhood name (Hollywood, Downtown, etc) or abbreviation (Hwd, SM, etc).

Where should we eat near the Pantages? Disneyland? Dodger Stadium? Angels Stadium
Search terms to try: the name of the attraction you want to eat near (Disney, Pantages, etc), or the neighborhood it's in

Where's the best brunch/sushi/burger/etc?
Search terms to try: title:best and the name of the food you're looking for
Also, check out the Los Angeles Hub on Places: http://www.chow.com/places/regions/2 Choose your cuisine of choice from the list for local Places tagged with that cuisine, then check out the threads to find out more about them.

Where should we go for our special occasion?
Search terms to try: anniversary, "special occasion", proposal, romantic, birthday
These might not all apply to your particular occasion, but they generally turn up the same kind of recommendations.

Where should I plan my group dinner?
Search terms to try: "private room", "buy out", corporate, group, "holiday party", "large group"

Where can I find New York (or Chicago) style pizza/chinese/bagels?
Search terms to try: New York plus the type of food, "east coast"
If you end up asking about these, please be nice--don't disparage the local food scene when asking about the stuff you remember from back home.

For information on more advanced search options, see the Search FAQ:
http://chowhound.chow.com/faq#find

STILL HAVE A QUESTION?
LA chowhounds are a great resource, but help them help you by including some important details. Tell them:
- What part of town you'll be in.
- How far or how long you're willing to travel. LA traffic can really make a difference at different times of day. Locals will assume you have a car available unless you say you don't.
- What your budget is. Descriptions such as 'expensive', 'moderate' and 'cheap' mean different things to different people, so use dollar values.
- What types of cuisines you're interested in.
- Any other special circumstances (traveling with kids? vegetarians? non-chowhounds?) that will help

If you've done some of your own research, mention what you found so hounds can help fill in the gaps, rather than rehashing what you already know.

AFTER YOUR MEAL
Most importantly, after your trip or your meal, thank the LA hounds for their help by reporting back. Tell people which suggestions you used and how the meals turned out, plus add tips about any great places you discovered on your own. This helps maks the board more useful for everyone who visits after you.

LA SPECIFIC TERMS
Here are some things you might see referred to on the Los Angeles board that are unique to this board:
BH = Beverly Hills
SGV = San Gabriel Valley
DTLA = Downtown LA
SM = Santa Monica
WeHo = West Hollywood
OC = Orange County
VC = Ventura County
SFV = San Fernando Valley
LB = Long Beach
Hwd = Hollywood

LINKS
LA Regional Hub: http://www.chowhound.com/places/regions/2
Digest posts about LA: http://www.chow.com/digest/tag/los+angeles+area
Add a new topic to the LA board: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/new?board_id=2

LA CHOWHOUND MEETUPS
Hounds love to eat, and they love to eat together. Anyone can plan a chowdown and announce it on the board, (see the Etiquette for more: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/367605#2975390 ) but there are a couple of established groups of hounds who dine together, so you might want to get on their mailing lists:
SCARF: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SCARF-So_Cal_Assoc_of_Radical_Foodies/
PleasurePalate: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PleasurePalate/

FEEDBACK
If there's something you think is vitally important for new members of the board to know that we've missed, please comment on this Site Talk thread: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/458604